This relates in general to a receptacle for collecting and storing waste fluid, more particularly oil, drained from the engines of motor vehicles.
Many persons desire to avoid expense by changing the oil in their own vehicles. When this is carried out in a residential garage or driveway, the problem arises of how to properly dispose of the spent oil by collecting it in a suitable receptacle for carrying to a reprocessing or disposal center, in a manner to avoid spilling the oily contents and contaminating the car trunk or other carrying facility with oil. Further problems arise during each operation in subsequently assembling the necessary tools, and in cleaning up and storing the oily drain pan and tools after the oil draining operation has been completed.
In the prior art, drip receptacles have been available, in the form disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,438, issued to R. O. Bartz on Nov. 12, 1968. However, this device has several disadvantages. When the receptacle is upended in carrying positions, the laterally-disposed drip pan is open, and must be cleaned up after each operation, to avoid contaminating the surroundings. Further, in order to close the drain which allows the oil to seep from the drain pan into the storage container to keep oil from slopping out when the receptacle is in upended carrying position, it is necessary to reach through the drain opening and manually apply a screw-on cap to the screw-threaded neck projecting into the storage container from the drain. Further, when the container is in carrying position, the oil is poured out through a spout which is closed with a separate screw-cap. Tools for opening and closing the oil drain cock, and for removing the engine oil filter must be assembled for each operation and separately cleaned up and put away thereafter.